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PADALANCHANA AT ANURADHAPURA
Padalanchana at Anuradhapura
HE Culavamsa, Chapter 54, v. 44, has recorded that Mahinda IV
T (956-972) 'restored the beautiful temple of the four cetiyas in Pada-
lafichana which had been burnt down by the troc ps of theCholaKing.' 1
To the average Sinhalese Buddhist of today, Padalafichana weuld connote
one and only one sacred place: that is the Footprint on the summit of the
mountain called Siripada or Samano!a-kanda in Sinhalese, Sumana-kiita
or Samanta-kiita in Pali, and is generally referred to as Adam's Peak by
European writers. The Footprint on Siripada is venerated by the Buddhists
of Ceylon as one of the sixteen great places hallowed by the Buddha in
this Island; it occupies the fourth place in a set of three Pali verses enume-
rating these shrines, often recited by the faithful in their devotions, the
first line of which runs: Mahiya'ngary,arh Niigadipmi, Kalyii1Jmh Pada-liinchanarh.
Another well-known Pali verse includes it among four Footprints left
by the Buddha at places widely separated in the Buddhist we rId, the other
three being one each on the banks of the Narmada river, on the Saccabaddha
mountain and in the city of the Y onakas.? The Footprint on Siripada-
kanda in Ceylon has been held in great veneration by the Buddhists cf
Burma, Siam and Cambodia from the twelfth century up to modern times.
The Chronicle does not, in this place, refer to the Padalafichana of
the Sumana-kiita or Samantakuta, and such an identification on the evidence
of modern usage does not seem to accord with the statement that the shrine
or shrines restored by Mahinda IV were previously burnt down bl the
troops of the Chola king. The Chola invasion referred to is that which
took place in the reign ofUdaya IV (946-954) when Parantaka I despatched
a poweful army to Ceylon, with the object of gaining possession of the
Pandya regalia which were left with the Sinhalese king in the reign of
Dappula III. The Chola army succeeded in capturing Anuradhapura,
L Jhapitarh Cola-riijassa balena Padaliiiichane
Catunnam. cciiyanmh so rama1Jiyam gharam aka
This verse can be understood to mean, as in the above translation of Geiger, that there was one
shrine for all the four cetiyas. It is more likely that the author meant' a shrine for each of the four
cetiyas.'
2. Yam Nnmmadtiya nadiya puline ca tire
Yam Saceabadha-girike SlIInanaealagge
Yam tattha Yonaka-pure munino ea p/idati:
Tam pada-ldnchanam aham sirasd namiimi.
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but did not achieve its main purpose of gaining possession of the Pand ya
regalia, for Udaya IV fled with them to Rohana. The Chela army pursued
the fleeing monarch, but the Sinhalese recovered from the shock of the
enemy's first offensive in time not only to check him before he reached the
frontiers of Rohana but also to force him out of the Island and to launch
a counter invasion of the Chela dominions, where he was compelled to
disgorge the loot that he had taken from Ccylon.s Siripada-kanda is within
Rohana and, if the Chela army did not enter that principality on this
occasion, they could not have destroyed a shrine on that mountain. Even
if we were to argue on the ground that the Peak, being close to the frontiers
of Rohana, might have been reached by an enemy who is stated to have
failed to penetrate into that principality, the Peak itself, or the wilderness
at its foot, was not the type of terrain to which a king in fear of an y enem y
would have fled. It was in pursuit of Udaya IV that the Chola army
might have entered the Peak wilderness, but the Badulla pillar-inscription+
furnishes us with evidence to indicate that it was to the districts around
Mahiyangana that the Sinhalese monarch fled to elude Parantaka's army.
And it is not necessary to march by the Peak to arrive at Mahiyangana
from Anuradhapura, Moreover, a general operating in a hostile and
unfamiliar country would scarcely have undertaken a campaign in such
terrain as the approaches to the Peak, and given hostage to Fortune by
making himself easily vulnerable in guerilla warfare by the forces of that
country acquainted with the topography. If the Cola forces did not
penetrate to the wilderness of the Peak, they could not have burned a shrine
connected with the Footprint (pada-laiichana) thereon. The shrine of
the Footprint which the Cholas burnt down, and which was restored by
Mahinda IV, therefore, must have been somewhere else. These or similar
considerations must have weighed with Geiger when he, in his translation
of the Cii!avarhsa,5 refrained from making the possible identification of
Padalafichana with Siripada-kanda, and contented himself with pointing
out the only other references to this name in that chronicle, which states
that Vajira, the wife of Sakka-scnapati, ' had a home built in Padalafichana,
and granted it to the bhikkh1/~is of the universally reverenced Thera School.'
The Peak is hardly a place for the establishment of a convent for nuns
who, according to the Vinaya rules, are prohibited from having their
places of residence far removed from human habitations."
3. Culavamsa, UII, vv. 39ff.
4. Epigraphia Zeylanica, Vol. III, pp. 78ff.
5. Part I, p. 182, footnote 5.
6. Culavamsa, chapter 52, v. 63.
7. Vide, Dhammapadauh akathii , P. T.S . ed. Vol. II, pp. 51, 52. The Vinaya Pitaka, P. T. S. ed.
Vol. II, p. 278.
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UNIVERSITY OF CEYLON REVIEW
Thus, these two references to a Padalaiichana in the Cii!(wmhsa, in
themselves, contain evidence to show that Sumana-or Samanta-kiita was
not meant by them; but they do not indicate where ill fact this Padalfifichana
was. The evidence necessary to identify the Padalafichana referred to in
these two contexts of the chronicle, is forthcoming in the cld Sinhalese
e- glossary to the Mahiibodhillmhsa (Mbg.), a text ascribed to the Polonnaruva
period, but for which the tenth century would not be a date inconsistent
with its language. The Pali MahiiiJodhillmhsa,8 in the section named
Mahiil'ihiira-pat~f[gaha~akalhii, gives an account of the legendary visits
to this Island by the four Buddhas of this kalpa, mentioning in particular
the spots hallowed by each of the Buddhas spending a few moments seated
in meditation thereon. The account of the visit of Kakusandha, the first
Buddha of this leolpa, ends with the statement that the Teacher, after hal-
lowing the site of the future Tluipararna, and after preaching the dhamma,
proceeded to the terrace named Ratanamiilalea, rose into the air from that
site, and returned to Jambudipa. The Sinhalese gloss explains Ratanamdlalea,
not only by giving the Sinhalese equivalent of the name, Ruvantnaluvehi,
but also with the comments: He ddn satara-Budun pada-lasa piidrlll1-dcse
maha-Sa-liinhi,9 ' that is at present the site of the main cctiya (slripa) in the
shrine of the Footprints (padalasa) of the four Buddhas.'
Konagamana, the second Buddha of this kalpa, is said to have hallowed
the same spcts as did his predecessor. He likewise terminated his tour
of Anuradhapura at the future Thiiparama, and rose into the air for the
return journey from Sudassanamalaka to the east of the last mentioned
place. For Sudassana-molaee, the Mbg.IO has the following gloss: Sudasun-
ma!rtyehi, he ddn Padalasa pddum-desen devana maha-sii tdn, 'at the Sudasun-
malu, that is at present the site of the great cetiya which is the second from
the east at Padalasa.' The corresponding account of the visit of the Buddha
Kassapa ends with the statement that the Teacher rose to the air for the
return journey from the Somanassa-malaka, which, too, was to the east
of the site of the future Thiiparama, The gloss in the Mbg.11 for Somanassa-
mii!ake is Somnas-moluyeh! .. he dan Padolasa piidum-desen tun-vane mahiisa-tiil1,
, at the Somnas-malu, that is at present the site of the great cetiyc, which
is the third from the east at Padalasa.' The historic Buddha, during the
last of the three visits he is believed to have paid to Ceylon, rose to the air
----------
8, P,T,S, Edition, pp. I 26ff. This account corresponds to Mahavamsa. XVI, vv. 75-165 and J.
9. Malltibodhjvmh,'a-grallfhipada-l'ivera~a}'a, edited by Sri Dharrnfirfima-Nayaka Thera, 1910
p. 131.
10, Op. cu. p, 13L
11. Ibid,
PADALANCHANA AT ANURADHAPURA
for the return journey after spending a few moments on the site cf the
future Sila-cctiya. Tl-c gloss of the Mhg. on the word Silii-c('liyat(hiilll!
of the Mahiibodhiuamsa is Sala-sd-tduhi du, he Padalasa satara-vana kii4ii
diigiiba ya,12 ' also at the site of Sala-sd ; that is (at present) the small fc urth
diigiiba at the Padalasa.'
The Sinhalese word pndalasa, in the above extracts from the Ml~~.,
is the exact equivalent of the Pali Padaliiiichnn, At the Padalasa, according
to the Mbg., there were four cetiyas, evidently built respectively over
Footprints left by the four Buddhas of this kalpa. The Culavamsa states
i' that, at the Padalafichana, where a shrine or shrines were restored by Mahinda
(~. IV, there were four cctiyas. It is therefore reasonable to take the Pada-
lafichana referred to at Ciiiavomsa, LIV, v. 44, as identical with the Padalasa
of the Mbg. Three of the cetiyas at this Padalasa (Padalanchana) were
believed, at the time the Mbg. was written, to mark three legendary sites
which arc definitely stated in the Mahiibodhif!amsa as well as in the Mahii-
uamsa, to have been to the east of the Thiipfirama. A shrine here might
well have been burnt down by the Chela troops in the reign of Udaya IV,
for they occupied Anuradhapura and also consigned to the flames the
Temple of the Tooth, the Dhammasangant House and the Mahapali within
the city (Cii!avamsa, LIV, v. 45). The Padalafichana referred to in the
Ciilovamsa, LIV, 44, was thus situated to the east of the Thuparama. The
other reference in the Ciilavamsa to the Padalanchana, as we have seen,
informs us that a residence for nuns was established there. A site to the
east of the Tluiparama would not have been inappropriate for a nunnery.
Three of the four Footprints to the cast of the Thupararna were left
by the three previous Buddhas rising to the air from that spot. Mihintale
is also eulogised in the Mahiihodhivamsal3 as being sanctified by the Foot-
prints of the three previous Buddhas. According to the Mahdvamsa, it
was on this hill, known by three other names in these mythical timcs!+,
that the three previous Buddhas alighted 011 their visits to the Island. The
ancient belief thus seems to have been that an indelible impress of a Buddha's
foot would remain at a spot from which he rose to the air or to which he
alighted. In these actions, greater pressure would naturally have been
'.:exerted on the ground by the feet than in normal walking.
12. Mbg., op. cit., p. 132.
13. " P.T.S. Edition, P: 117. Ti'!'l'!'lmh pubba Buddhallaril pndalaiichauapavitte Amhattlialc,
14. Mahal'amsa, XV, vv, 62, 96 and 131.

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The Mbg. also places to the east of the Tluiparama the site of the
Sila-cetiya, which, according to the faithful, has the honour of being the
piece of ground in this Island on which the Buddha trod for the last time.
The Mahiiuamsa (XXXIII, 24) informs us that a Silathiipa was founded by
Lajjitissa (circa 119-110 B.C.). to the east of the Thuparama We are net
told here that this monument was built over a Footprint of the Buddha,
but the location of the Silacctiya+> to the east of the Tluiparama by the
Mbg. would justify us in the assumption that the stupa was built to mark
a spot believed at that time to have been the last at which the Buddha
sat in meditation on the third visit. The Dipavamsa (XIX, 13) also credits
Lajjitissa with the construction of the Sildthiipa, without, however, stating
where it was. There was, however, no unanimity in ancient times about
the identity cf this Silacetiya or-thiipa. The devotees of Mihintale, it
appears, were not content with that sacred hill having the Footprints of
the previous Buddhas only. For we are told by the PlUiivalr16 that the last
place hallowed by the Buddha on the third visit to this Island was
Maha-sala-sdya (P. Maha-sila-cetiya) at Mihintale, The existence, in
ancient times, of a Sila-cctiya at Mihintale is attested by the Mahdvamsa
as well as the Habarana rock inscription of about the fourth century.' 7
A third Sila-thiipa of an early date is referred to in the Dipavamsa
(XIX, 17) in a verse which has not yet been satisfactorialy interpreted.
In recording the establishment of the Abhayagiri Vihara by Vattagamal;li
Abha ya, this chronicle says: Abhayagirim patitthapesi Siliithiipam cetiyam
antare. Olden berg's translation of this half-verse is: 'He erected the
Abhayagiri (monastery) between the Silathiipa and the Cetiya.T' The
use of the word ant are in this verse, following a noun in the accusative case,
is paralleled by Dakkhi1y,a-vihiirClll1 antare at XXII, 58, where antare clearly
means' in ' or ' within,' not' between'. SiliithUpam as well as Ahhayagirim
are objects of patitthapest. The translation would thus be: ' Be esta-
blished the Abhayagiri (monastery and) the Silathiipa which is within
(its) cetiya.' What the text connotes is that VaHagamal!i built the Silacctiya
which forms the core of the Abhayagiri Dagaba, the huge pile built encasing
this being the work of later hands. As the ancient belief was that the
Silathiipa marked the site from which the Buddha rose to the air to return
to jambudipa from Ceylon, and thus received the Footprint of the Master,
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IS. Sila-rlnipa ' and Sila-Ceriya ' are synonymous.
16. Pujiillal'i, edited by Bentota Saddhatissa Thera, 1953, P: 708.
17. Maluiuamsa, chapter XXXIV, v. 31: E. MUlier, Ancient Inscriptions
also AI/minI Report of the Archaeological SlIwey of Ceylon for 1951, p. 22.
18. Epigraphia Zeylanica, Vol. II, p. 217.
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PAD ALAN CHANA AT ANURADBAPURA
such an interpretation of the above verse would accord with the claim of
the inmates of the Abhayagiri Vibara, recorded by Fa-Bien, that the
stiipa of this monastery was built over a Footprint of the Buddha. 19
, '
I,
It would, of course, be an invidious task, particularly at this distance
of time, to adjudicate between the claims of various religious institutions
for the possession of the Silathupa. The shrine of this name within the
establishments which acknowledged the authority of the Mahavihara
was lccatcd, according to the Ivfbg., at the PadalafichalJa to the east of the
Thuparal1la. The only ancient stiipa at present to be seen to the east of
this Dag;iba is that now popularly, but erroneously, believed to be the
...., ..:,
..::.
~: shrine erected over the ashes of Sanghamitta-theri.20 This is evidently not
the Silathupa, for it is not built of stone. It may be one of the four cetiyas
" at the Padalaikhana. The reference to three of these monuments as
mahn-ss; great cetiyas, was probably in comparison with the fourth, which
is called a kUii ( small) dagiiba, and not on account of their actual size. The
remains of the Silacetiya and the other two cetiyas might well have been
cleared away when the site came to be used as the cremation ground for the
abbots of the Bo-tree temple in modern times. No thorough investig-
ations on the site are practicable due to the presence of the monuments
(alu-vihares) built in memory of these dignitaries. It is also not impossible
that the four cetiyas of the Padalafichana at Anuradhapura were further to
the cast, and that their remains had to yield place to the bungalows for
medical officers erected by the Public Works Department.
Yam leim. ci samudaya-dhammarh sabbarh tam nirodha-dha1l1mam!
S. PARANAVITANA
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ill CeylOll, No. 61. See " 19. Samuel BeaJ;'Buddhist Records of the Western World (Boston, 1885), Vol. I, p. Ixxiii.
" " ~. - Sanghalllitta's body, taken out of the city by way of the eastern side of the Thiipariima
;:upa~dlll.a-PIIYlttthato), was crcmatcd ar a spot within sightofthegrcatDodhi tree (Mahiibodhi-padassitc)
e eellya 111 her hOllOtll' was built where her body was cremated (Mahallarhsa, XX, v. 52).
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